Conventional audio capture and reproduction approaches have remained, at the core, largely unchanged for an extended period of time. Audio data is captured via one or more microphones, stored on or in a recording medium, and then played back via one or more loudspeakers. While such systems and related technologies have become increasingly ubiquitous, powerful, compact, and energy-efficient, they have generally not allowed for simultaneous mass customization of audio, nor have they allowed for expanded approaches for interaction with an audience.
Theater-style surround sound systems offer only limited sound staging/sound localization capabilities due to incomplete sound isolation. For example, sound emanating from a loudspeaker on the left side of the theater will eventually reach both the left ear and the right ear of a moviegoer, with the sound arriving at the right ear after a slight delay as compared to the left ear. Binaural sound that is delivered via headphones offer significantly improved sound staging/sound localization potential, but has proven difficult and/or impractical to implement. Accordingly, the audio portion of many audiovisual (A/V) entertainment forms remains subject to significant improvement, where systems for obtaining, delivering, and synchronizing binaural audio remain desirable. The benefits provided by the functionality of such a system can include, for example, increased consumer immersion and interactivity with media, increased customer goodwill, decreased media development expenses, increased language localization capabilities in connection with media presentation, and the like. For example, a moviegoer can benefit from receiving audio presented in a more realistic manner and/or in a language preferred by the moviegoer. On the other hand, movie-industry organizations benefit from reduced expenses associated with recording and mixing of audio data associated with a movie, the ability to charge a premium price for an upgraded audio experience, the ability to more effectively target audience advertising, and so forth.